Only In My Sleep
by michiyo ayumi
Summary: Anna starts having horrible nightmares, instilling doubt in herself and in her affections for Yoh. Unsurprisingly, Hao is the man behind the mask of this pain...


**Author's Note:** Sorry if it was a pain to read it at first – you see, this is my first fanfic, and I have to admit that I had to get myself accustomed to I've already made the changes in spacing as you advised, and I also italicized the thoughts of a character.

**Chapter 1: Dreams**

Anna stepped out of the shower. She put on her bathrobe and grabbed the towel on the rack, drying her hair with it.

_"Why did I have that stupid dream? Hao's gone... somehow... He can't bother us anymore,"_ thought Anna to herself. She had apparently dreamt of the powerful shaman her fiancé battled a few months ago…

Reassuring herself, she went straight to her room and got dressed in her usual getup - the short black dress, the red scarf, the red sandals, and the itako accessories. Then she went downstairs and found Yoh lying on the corner-pavilion, with closed eyes while listening to his music, with Amidamaru watching him with mild interest. She ignored them, as something else had caught her eye - a package on the table. She went towards it, and then Yoh opened one eye and said, "It's from Grandma. It was addressed to you, so I didn't open it." Anna said nothing but opened the package. Anna found a note on top of the paper bag inside the package box. She read it and quickly snatched the paper bag away from the table. Leaving her fiancé and his power spirit, she called to them as she was already on top of the stairs, "I'll be in my room."

Upon entering her room, she threw the paper bag onto the floor. _"Hmph,"_ she thought, _"Why did she send me such a useless thing?"_ Sliding down against her cabinet's door, she buried her face in her left hand. Her head was aching, as if it were about to split in half. And then she heard someone's footsteps downstairs. Soon after, Manta's voice came. "There's a fair tonight, Yoh! It'll be really great to come and see it! Want to come?" Yoh's lazy voice answered. "Yeah, sure." Before she knew it, she was downstairs, saying, in her icy voice, "I'm coming with you."

Anna was quite unsure why she felt the sudden urge to spend time with her fiancé; she had always been least interested in his affairs that were unrelated to the shaman fight… but now, perhaps… _"I only want to forget that dream…"_ Anna reasoned to herself. She opened the paper bag and got out the kimono Kino Asakura sent her. Wearing it, she looked at herself in the mirror for quite a long time, and, finally, she held her hair back with a large clip. She went downstairs and saw Yoh, Manta and Amidamaru waiting for her, quite surprised. "Let's go." She said frostily.

She had to admit she was enjoying herself. Though no one else could perceive that fact aside from herself, she was smiling serenely to herself, glad to have tagged along. But still, somewhere, in the back of her mind…

Coming home late in the evening, they said a quick goodbye to Manta, who carried his laptop around wherever they went. "Goodnight," she told Yoh listlessly. She was going to sleep again… She was dreading it… How she wished to just stay awake, never to close her eyes, in fear of seeing that familiar face… _"NO."_ she thought. _"I was never afraid of him. My fear of him won't start now."_ And, closing her eyes, she slept, entering the darkness that was awaiting her. And then the dreams started… the faces of Hao and Yoh, scattered shards of glass, large fires and the starry night sky… It was all happening so fast, too intense for her icy nature. And then there was a pink-haired girl… laughing with Yoh… with Yoh… And then there was Hao, during the first time they met… he held her face close to him… it was too much… she wanted to scream, to shout, to break something… And then she woke.

It was the middle of the night, and she was soaked with sweat, breathing heavily and gasping for breath. "What happened?" said Yoh, opening her door. The moment she caught sight of Yoh, she returned back to normal. She hit him with her paper fan. "Who gave you permission to enter my room?" she said angrily. "But – you – you were moaning in your sleep – shouting-"reasoned Yoh, "It's none of your business! Get out!" said Anna furiously. It was the first time she lost her temper. Her head was aching painfully. "Am I going insane? What's wrong with me?"

A few miles away, no one could have ever guessed that Hao was sitting atop a tree composedly, smiling to himself. He seemed tired, yet he was smiling gleefully. "You're not insane, Anna. You're only seeing a glimpse of my power," He said quietly, with his dark eyes shining malevolently.

The next morning, Anna went downstairs, and as she caught Yoh's eye, the boy turned away. She was quite troubled with his reaction towards her, but, as she was excellent in concealing her emotions and her mind, she showed him that she was indifferent. Only for show. Was Yoh angry at her? _"I mustn't let it bother me." _She told herself sternly. In the next few days, Anna found herself very unlike her regular self. She was less unruffled and frosty – in fact, she was the opposite – feeling jumpy and helpless. _"What's the matter with me?"_ she kept asking herself. The dreams wouldn't stop. They came much more frequently – every night. Amidamaru was getting worried. "Master Yoh, something seems to be troubling her," he told Yoh. "Hmm… it seems so, but, I'm sure she'll be alright." Yoh seemed to be indifferent towards Anna, much more than usual. "And besides… 'it's none of our business', remember?" said Yoh, lying on the corner-pavilion again.

Manta dropped by. "Hi! How are you?" "We're all fine here," answered Yoh. "Is Anna okay? She seemed… er…" Manta was unable to finish his sentence due to a quick interruption. "She seemed what? Do continue." Said Anna, towering over Manta. "Uh… Hi Anna… nice to see you again," Manta said nervously." "I'm much more interested in what you were saying a while ago. She seemed…?" said Anna, obviously in a mood for taunts and threats. Anna was about to kick Manta around had it not been for Tamao entering the house. "Ohayou gozaimas!" She called out. Entering the living room, she caught sight of Yoh, Amidamaru, Anna and Manta.

Anna withdrew herself and her anger. Folding her arms, she asked Tamao. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Izumo?" she said harshly. "Yes – w-well – b-but – you see –" Tamao stuttered. "What?" said Anna heatedly. "I-I w-wanted t-to s-see M-Master Y-Yoh…" Tamao replied tensely. "Well, there you go, you've seen him. You can leave now." Said Anna acidly. Again, she was unsure why she was feeling this way – she was feeling hatred towards Tamao. "But, Anna, Tamao traveled a long way from Izumo… She must be tired," said Yoh. "What would you have me do? Serve her? Act as a housekeeper for her? Turn this house into a hotel for her?" she answered with suppressed rage. "Maybe i-it's better i-if I d-did g-go…" said Tamao. "No. Stay. Master Yoh says so." Said Anna scornfully, stressing her words angrily. And with that she stormed out of the house. "Idiot." She marched angrily towards the park.

Holding back her tears, Anna stared out at the city, clutching the metal bars angrily. The wind started blowing hard. "Tsk, tsk. Someone seems to have gotten off the wrong side of bed." "That voice…" Anna turned around but saw no one. Although… she was sure… she had heard him… Hao's voice… was it just… a – a dream? Was she imagining things? Was it the effect of her dreams? Or had Hao somehow survived? If he had, would he be exacting his revenge on Yoh? _"I-I have to go… I must warn them of his return…"_ she thought to herself. _"Wait… I might just be imagining things…"_ She stopped herself. _"I'm going crazy…"_ She returned home, talked to no one and went straight to her room. _"I need to clear my mind. So much has happened. I must not be deterred by these events."_ She told herself determinedly.

She sat down on the center of her room. Concentrating, she emptied her mind of all thought. Her iciness slowly returned to her… Until… She heard her door open. Opening her eyes, she found herself faced with Tamao. "Um… Anna-sama…" Tamao could not meet her gaze. Anna stared at her in silence. "I-I'm sorry about the row earlier. G-Gomenasai," said Tamao, apparently still nervous. She sunk into a half bow. Without saying a word, Anna stood up and walked past her. She was halfway down the stairs when she heard Yoh conversing with Amidamaru and Manta. "It's hard to figure how her brain works! She cries out in the middle of the night because she's having nightmares and then she gets grumpy… What am I supposed to do?" Said Yoh worriedly, yet he was as comical as ever. Anna went straight downstairs and went into the kitchen as if she had not heard a thing. They all stopped talking when they caught sight of her. She stared back at them for their silence. "Go on. Keep on talking." She drank a glass of water and then went back upstairs. "D'you think she heard?" asked Manta. "I dunno…" answered Yoh.

Anna climbed to the roof. Tamao had gone off somewhere – she did not care. It was sunset. Sitting on the roof was quite pleasant. She was alone, and in peace. Watching the sun set had calmed her a lot. And the soft evening breeze was wonderful, as the peaceful light of the moon replaced the bright light of the sun. "Yoh…" she said, whispering her fiancé's name. Had she been jealous? She had never felt that way about Tamao. She already knew that Tamao liked Yoh… she allowed Tamao to occasionally spend time with Yoh. She never claimed him as her own. She only drew the line for that pink-haired girl. When Tamao crossed that line, it would be the only time she'd interfere.

"She's on the roof… We have to get her down… It's unsafe…" said Tamao. "What is she doing there?" asked Yoh hysterically. "Contemplating, most likely," said Amidamaru.

Unknown to Anna, as she was staring into the bright night sky, tears were on her face. "The stars are very pretty tonight, aren't they?" said a voice – the same voice she heard moments ago. "Hao…" Anna looked around. There was no one else on the roof. She was alone – alone in that seemingly desolate place. Or at least she was – until Yoh had come up.

As Yoh looked upon Anna, he smiled, and he was reminded of the discussion he had with his friends downstairs. "Go on, go up there. She wouldn't want to see us. She'd want to see you." Said Manta. "Me? Why me?" asked Yoh. "Well, you're her fiancé, aren't you?" said Amidamaru. "Just go up there and talk to her, Master Yoh." He added. "But, what are we going to talk about?" asked Yoh, puzzled. "Tell her you're sorry – anything," said Manta. Tamao wasn't talking. She stood in silence, watching Yoh. _"He isn't mine. He has a fiancée. He's practically married. I'm not an itako, I'm not like Miss Anna. I don't have as much power as her…"_ thought Tamao. "Wish me luck," said Yoh, as he climbed the ladder.

"The stars look pretty tonight, don't they?" said Yoh, smiling. Anna was startled with this statement. "H-Huh?" "Never mind then," he said. They sat for a moment in silence, both staring up at the sky. "I-I'm sorry for-for the shouting and-and all…" she said quietly, hugging her knees and hiding her face. "It's nothing! Don't mind it…" said Yoh.

"Looks like she's managed to calm the tides in her…" said Hao, staring at the two figures on the roof from a higher point. "Entering her dreams is no easy task… It requires a lot of power, energy and concentration. I need her to doubt herself and all the people around her… until she can trust no one." He said quietly, smiling vindictively.

"Yoh?"

"Hai?"

"W-What if…"

"If?"

"If… If Hao returned?" asked Anna meekly.

"We-ell… I don't know…" answered Yoh. Anna hesitated, and then started speaking again. "I… I've been… having dreams… a-about Hao." "You're not your usual self," said Yoh, looking directly at Anna, concern showing on his face. He disliked admitting to himself that he felt a tinge of jealousy. He and Anna were talking about Hao… "They used to come only once a week… and then they came more frequently… and now… they haunt me every night…" Much to Yoh's surprise, Anna was crying. "I-I don't know what's wrong with me! I don't want to close my eyes anymore! I'd do anything to stop seeing his horrible face every night!" she burst into tears, and cried on Yoh. "You don't have to worry. You're safe here…" said Yoh. He brushed his fingers through her hair.

Hao was watching with a mixed reaction of anger, envy and excitement. "I underestimated you yet again," he said. "But that doesn't mean the gig's up…"

Anna and Yoh had spent most of the evening on the roof. When they went down, Manta was asleep, Amidamaru was in the corner-pavilion watching the moon, and Tamao was with him.

"Wake up," said Anna. Manta stirred. "It's 10 in the evening. You might want to go home," said Anna. Manta said no word, but, he could not help noticing that Anna was not that frosty towards him, she had almost been gentle… Her words were neither kind nor harsh. They were just… words.

That night… Anna had a hard time sleeping. She knew what awaited her in the realm of dreams. She knew the horror that she must go through before sunrise… "Come on… close your eyes… be a good girl," whispered Hao to himself. Slowly, as if Anna were obeying him, she sat down on the mat and fell asleep.


End file.
